Reunion
by okami11235
Summary: Rukia is finally returning after 4 months away. Ichigo is excited, and decides to get her a special gift. But will Isshin's meddling ruin Ichigo's plans? 6 parts. I don't own Bleach.
1. Readying

Ichigo sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. Today was going to be a loooooong day.

"Tch... of course it had to rain today." Ichigo snorted. He had never liked the rain (at least not after his mother died), but today he HATED it. It was his only extra day off from school for the rest of the year, and something VERY important was to occur. Things were finally starting to get back to normal for Ichigo. Of course, it had taken awhile. The war ended in mid-January, and afterwards, Ichigo had spent one month sleeping, two weeks wallowing in self-pity and loneliness (because of Rukia's 'departure'), two months training with his idiot father and -and-Clogs, and two weeks trying to readjust, so to say that he was overwhelmed would be an understatement. After his training (which, if he was being completely honest with himself, was only undertaken so he could see Rukia again), Ichigo began to search for her, but to no avail. He decided that his best bet would be to ask Orihime about Rukia's whereabouts. That turned out to be a bad idea, as Ichigo learned that Rukia had returned to the Soul Society nine weeks prior, and that Orihime had become much more *open* with her feelings. Needless to say, Ichigo has avoided her since then. Anyways, after learning where Rukia was, Ichigo decided to pay a little visit to -and-Clogs and his 'Were-cat'. It went, surprisingly, according to plan. Ichigo convinced Yoruichi to contact Ukitake, who restationed the raven-haired soul reaper in Karakura immediately. There was, however, one slight hitch in the plan, but that is a story for another day. That all happened exactly fourteen days prior. Today, Rukia Kuchiki, an unseated, violet-eyed midget in the Thirteenth Court Guard Squad, was returning to the small city of Karakura, where, exactly 365 days ago, her life changed forever.

"Damn... The things I do for that little runt." Ichigo grunted as he donned a rain coat and grabbed an umbrella. Though he didn't look it, and acted far from it, Ichigo was practically giddy.

"Ahhh, my SOOOOOON? You shouldn't speak so ill of my lovely third daughter!" Isshin chirped as he dove at the orange-haired teen. "After all, how do you expect to court that lovely young lady if act so coldly all the time?" Ichigo moved a few inches to the left, allowing Isshin to plow face-first into the door.

"Dammit, Dad! Give it a rest, will ya? I told you, she's not my GIRLFRIEND!" Ichigo yelled, stepping on his father's back. Isshin jumped right back up, wiped the blood from his nose, and began to giggle.

"Interesting, son, I never said that little Rukia WAS your girlfriend!" Isshin pranced and prattled around.

"Just shut up, y'old freak!" Ichigo snapped, striking his father over the head with the umbrella.

"Yeah, Dad, leave 'im alone. You know Ichigo's not gonna admit it." Karin said non-chalantly, taking sips from a juice box.

"Aw... Don't encourage them Karin, I hate it when they fight." Yuzu whimpered as the two of them watched the whole sorry spectacle. Ichigo sighed once again as he pinched the bridge of his nose. It was indeed going to be a long day.

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(**A/N**: This is the first part to a 6-part story. It's just about Rukia returning after a few months away. I'll update every other day. Enjoy, and review to make me a happy IchiRuki fanboy! **Not kidding. Review.**)


	2. Meeting & Gifting

Ichigo's pace quickened as he checked his watch. 2:37. He managed to sneak out during some commotion at his house. (Isshin tackled him, missed, hit a lamp, and broke several things made out of glass). Rukia was due to arrive at Urahara's Shoten at 3:00 p.m. Ichigo wondered if he had time to do something nice for Rukia, like get her a gift, or some flowers. He continued to walk in the deluge, until he came to an intersection. Ichigo checked his watch once again. 2:42. He decided to risk it. Ichigo fished through his bag, looking for his wallet (he was quite close to a Souvenir shop, which conveniently carried a variety of Chappy dolls). However, when his hand reached the bottom, what Ichigo's hand met was not his wallet, but rather a small, purple gift bag with a note attached to it. The note read:

"_Son, since you're too much of an idiot to court my third daughter without my help, use this_." Ichigo reluctantly reached into the bag, fully expecting to pull out something offensive, idiotic or dangerous. He was however, met with complete surprise, as he stared at the object in his hand. A small, white plush rabbit, with a strawberry design woven into its chest.

"Wow Dad..." Ichigo said quietly. "Guess that old freak isn't all bad." He mused, flipping the note over. "Spoke too soon..." On the back of Isshin's note was a short p.s. that read:

"_P.S. Be careful, my son._"

"Be careful? What in the hell is that supposed to mea..." Ichigo sweatdropped. "I knew that perverted old creep would try something like this..." Ichigo growled. He peered into the gift bag and lifted up the tissue paper to reveal... A box of condoms. Ichigo was not in the mood for his father's crap today. He removed the box, placed the rabbit back into they gift bag, and, already in a rush, haphazardly placed his newest problem into his bag. "What else could go wrong?" Ichigo asked rhetorically, checking his watch. 2:47. "Great." He muttered. But now, Ichigo had another problem. An hourglass-shaped, auburn-haired problem.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime called out as she rushed to meet her friend.

"Oh, hey Inoue!" Ichigo greeted her in a forced friendly tone.

"What are you doing out here in the rain, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime inquired.

"Oh... I uh... I'm on my way to meet someone." Ichigo replied, still sensing an awkward air between them. "Listen, Inoue, I know I've kinda been avoiding you since you...asked me out, but..."

"Oh, that? Don't worry about that, Kurosaki-kun, I was just kidding!" She giggled in her signature bubbly manner. "In fact, Ishida-kun asked me out just the other day. I'm on my way to meet him now." Ichigo let out a sigh of relief. He knew she was lying about the fact that she was kidding, and though he liked Orihime, he had absolutely no desire to pursue a relationship with her.

"I see. So we're good, then, Inoue?"

"Of course, Kurosaki-kun!" She giggled.

"_I'll have to remember to thank Uryu the next time I see him.._." Ichigo thought to himself.

"Alright, Inoue, I'm running late, I'll see ya!"

"Sure, Kurosaki-kun! Have fun on your date!" Orihime called as Ichigo bolted down the street.

"It's not a...oh, never mind..." Ichigo looked down. She thougt she saw Ichigo drop something when he jerked around and took off down the street.

"What's this?" She asked herself as she knelt down. On the ground, precisely where Ichigo was just standing, was a small box, covered in strange pictures and lots of small writing. Though she didn't know what exactly was contained within the box, Orihime quickly came to the conclusion that Ichigo needed it immediately. "Oh no!" She exclaimed. "Kurosaki-kun must need these for his date!" And just like that, the ditzy girl took off after Ichigo.

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(**A/N**: Part two of six! I can totally see Isshin doing something like that XD. Review to make me a happy IchiRuki fanboy. **What, you don't think I'm serious? Don't tax me. _Seriously._**)


	3. Teasing

Ichigo glanced at his watch as he skidded around yet another corner. 2:53. He was still 4 blocks from the Shoten, and was becoming quite fatigued. The fact that the sidewalks were slippery as ice wasn't helping either.

2:57. The large "Urahara Shoten" sign came into view. As Ichigo crossed the empty lot in front of the derelict shoten, he removed his jacket and cast his umbrella aside. He threw the sliding door open, and proclaimed his arrival simply.

"Is she here yet?" His greeting was a stifled laugh from a blonde man, sitting cross-legged on a raised section of floor across from the entrance.

"My, my. So impatient, just like always, young Ichigo." Urahara chuckled from behind his fan.

"Is she here or not, Geta-boshi?" Ichigo barked. He was not in the for mood Urahara either, but he would have to suffer.

"She is not. There's no saying when she will be, either." Urahara answered in a suddenly serious tone. "What? What the Hell do you mean 'there's no saying when'?" Ichigo was practically seething. His fists were clenched, teeth gritted, and he was almost foaming at the mouth. Ichigo was prepared to rip Kisuke Urahara limb from limb when another familiar voice entered the room.

"Come on Kisuke, don't tease him like that." Yoruichi spoke as she entered from one of the back rooms of the Shoten. "He hasn't seen his little girlfriend in four months, he's obviously wound up. Don't wind him up more or you'll have to answer to the both of us, understand?" Yoruichi threatened, reiatsu flaring up.

"Yes, Ma'am..." Urahara replied, defeated and downtrodden. This was not helping Ichigo's mood. "Dammit! Why won't anyone listen? RUKIA. IS. **NOT**. MY. **GIRLFRIEND**!"

"Yeah, yeah, Ichigo, and I'm really a penguin in a cat suit. My point is, you haven't seen her in 4 months, you should be happy that you'll see her soon."

"It's been three months, not fou..." Ichigo's voice trailed off. "Crap." He muttered.

"**AHA**! Counting the days, are we?" Yoruichi mocked.

"**Shut. Up**." Ichigo said coldly. "Can we just do this?"

"Fine, fine..." Yoruichi motioned at Kisuke, who quickly lifted the panel that led to his clandestine, subterranean training grounds. Yoruichi and Kisuke both made their way down, but Ichigo had one thing to do first. He reached into his pocket and pulled outside something he hadn't even looked at in the past 8 months. He smiled and spoke,

"Hello, old friend..." Ichigo used the object from his pocket and quickly grabbed the gift bag from the table he had set it down on, not noticing that, due to an unseen visitor who had arrived and departed during the argument, it was just a little bit heavier...

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(**A/N**: Part 3 of 6. I don't like this one too much, but, I digress. Geta-Boshi= Sandal Hat/Hat-and-Clogs, Shoten= shop/store. Enjoy. Review to make me a happy IchiRuki fanboy! **That is, if you want me to contiue...**)


	4. Returning

Ichigo jumped down the hole that led to Urahara's training grounds, gift bag in hand. He had never gotten used to falling for so long without so much as a twisted ankle.

"Guess that's one of the perks of being a Soul Reaper..." He thought sloud as he fell. Ichigo left his body, along with his Substitute Soul Reaper Badge in the back, so as not to arouse suspicion from passers by. Ichigo landed with a soft thud, and was immediately greeted by two grinning former Captains.

"Ichigo! The Senkaimon is opening!" Yoruichi called. "Why don't you go hide, so you can surprise her?" The orange-clad 'were-cat' suggested. "

Why in the hell would I do that?" Ichigo asked bluntly.

"Awwww... Is someone too excited to see their girlfriend?" Yoruichi teased.

"Dammit! Why won't you people listen?" Ichigo seethed.

"Now who's the one winding him up?" Kisuke said under his breath. Yoruichi shot him a menacing glare and struck him.

"Fine...I'll do it, if it'll get you to stop teasing me..." Ichigo obliged, fearing that he too might bare the brunt of Yoruichi's backhand.

"Oh, Ichigo use this." Kisuke said when he finally stopped cringing. Urahara tossed Ichigo what looked like a large towel.

"What the hell's this thing?" Ichigo asked, eyeing what turned out to be a thick, black overcoat.

"It'll cut off your spirit energy." Urahara grinned, making the 'okay' sign.

"I'm sure..." Ichigo muttered, knowing full well Urahara's crappy inventions, more often than not, required a messy cleanup of 'organic matter'.

"Don't worry, I tested it myself." Urahara assured him.

"You're not helping!" Ichigo snapped. He took a deep breath and pulled the coat on. Surprised that he still had a functioning nervous system, Ichigo took his place behind one of the boulders that littered the room. There was a bright flash of light, but it quickly dimmed. Not wanting to betray his presence, Ichigo remained hidden.

"My, my, welcome back, Miss Kuchiki!" Urahara greeted in his 'shop-owner' voice. "What can I help you with today?"

"Save it, Urahara. I'm not in the mood." Rukia snapped. "Just hurry up and get my gigai ready. I want...to see Ichigo." Rukia almost whispered. Ichigo's spirits were instantly lifted. 

_"She...wants to see me first?" _He thought to himself.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Miss Kuchiki." Urahara said coldly.

"**WHAT**?" Rukia practically screamed.

"Well, it'll take well over a week to re-sync and prepare." Urahara said meekly. "But I'll be sure to cut you a deal, alright?" Urahara chirped, folding up his fan and grinning.

"Do it. **Now**" Rukia fumed, tightly grasping Urahara's collar.

"Well, you certainly are excited to see your boyfriend, aren't you?" Yoruichi giggled.

"That idiot is **NOT**, I repeat, **NOT MY BOYFR**..." Rukia flustered, but was cut off by the beeping of her soul pager. She glared at Kisuke once more and growled, "Not a word to Ichigo, or I'll make a new sheath for myself with your spine. Understand?" Urahara gulped and nodded.

"Of... course... Miss... Kuchiki..." He coughed, struggling to breathe through the vice grip Rukia had on his throat. Rukia released him, and stormed off outside to take care of the hollow. Ichigo stood up. This time it was his turn to hold Urahara by the neck.

"You're a real jackass, ya'know that?" Ichigo spat. He released Urahara, and took off after Rukia.

"He's right." Yoruichi said, turning her back and making her way back to ground level.

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(**A/N**: Ughhh...Sorry it's so short. Oh yeah, the jacket Urahara gave to Ichigo was the same one he used in the "Turn Back the Pendulum" arc, when he was trying to sneak out in order to save Hiyori. Review, to make an IchiRuki fanboy happy!** Do it, or Rukia will carry out her threats!**)


	5. Rescuing

Ichigo burst out into the pouring rain and stopped in the empty lot in front of the Shoten. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It had been so long, he wondered if he could still sense them. Spirit Ribbons. It a took a moment, but they revealed themselves quite easily. Their were countless white ones, some he recognized as Chad's, Uryu's, Orihime's, and Karin's, but only six red ones. One was his own, and was connected to his chest, three came from within the Shoten, one came from his home, and the last one... was due south, moving towards the park. Ichigo smiled and took off after it, shunpo-ing from rooftop to rooftop. He quickly caught up with his target at the edge of the park, but decided to stay in the shadows.

"Maybe Yoruichi was right... it'll be fun to surprise the little midget." Ichigo said to himself. Ichigo was able to remain completely hidden from Rukia (He forgot to return Urahara's coat), and watched from up in a tree as Rukia waited for the hollow to appear. It turned out to be an adjuchas. Not very big, not very smart, but still very dangerous. It wasn't anything Rukia couldn't handle, but it wasn't something that she could take down in fell swoop either. Or so Ichigo thought.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia called on her Zanpaku-to. "Tsugi no mae, Hakuren!" Rukia pointed her glowing white blade at the hollow, and a stream of snow and ice shot out, quickly enveloping the hollow. But Rukia wasn't finished yet. She extended her hand, aiming her palm at the hunk of ice.

"The one who reigns, Mask of blood and flesh, All of creation, Flap of wings, The one who carries the title of human! In the name of truth and temperance, dig your claws into the wall of sinless dreams! Hado, 33! Sokatsui!" She chanted, and a blue flame burst from her palm. It struck the frozen hollow, which shattered onto several small pieces. Rukia sighed and proceeded to sheathe her blade, when the ammorphous hollow blobs began to convulse. They slithered towards each other, and perfectly reformed to their original state. The hollow still did nothing, it simply sat there with a blank look on its face.

"Tch... aren't you persistent..." Rukia snorted. "Hado 4, Byakurai!" A pale bolt shot from Rukia's fingertip. It scored a direct hit on the hollow and made a large hole. The hole instantly closed itself. Still, the hollow sat completely unmoving, mouth agape.

"Alright, you're starting to irritate me." Rukia charged toward the hollow, hand extended. "Hado 1! Sho!" The hollow was tossed forcefully back and slammed a tree. Rukia charged at it again, hacking and slashing until she was out of breath. Again, the hollow reformed, but still didn't move. This continued for several minutes, and Rukia got more creative each time. Ichigo was sitting in the tree, laughing every minute of it. Finally, after twenty minutes, Ichigo decided to step in. He flanked to left, far out of Rukia's field of view. He grabbed Zangetsu's hilt, positioned himself properly, and raised Zangetsu above his head.

"Getsuga...Tensho!" Ichigo yelled as he swung his overgrown blade down. The beam struck and completely obliterated the hollow, this time doing too much damage for it to reform. All Rukia saw from this was an intense blue light strike and kill the nuisance of a hollow. She was flabbergasted, but she knew that technique. She ran to where the hollow was and turned toward the source of the light. But, she saw nothing. Suddenly, a voice spoke from behind her.

"Hey." Ichigo said casually, as if the two had spoken on the previous day.

"Ichigo..." Rukia whispered.

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(**A/N**: Ughh...I can't write fight scenes...I'm sorry this is so terrible. For the last two lines, think episode 54, when Ichigo blocks the Kiko'oh. I'm sorry if the Spirit Chant isn't right, I did it form memory, not to mention it was the english version, so...Yeah. Next chapter is last, but also longer than all the other chpaters put together for some reason. Review, make an IchiRuki fanboy happy! **Or Rukia will come after you.**)


	6. Promise

The two Soul Reapers stood still and silent for a long moment, until Rukia broke the silence with a sigh.

"**IDIOT**! That was my fight!" The midnight-haired girl screeched, as an (almost) unnoticeable smirk crept onto her face.

"You looked like you were having some trouble..." Ichigo turned away, "Just be thankful I saved your sorry ass again." He snorted, returning Rukia's gesture of a smirk.

"Ughh... You were watching me? You little pervert!" Rukia snarled, delivering a sharp punch to Ichigo's gut. She couldn't help but quietly giggle to herself, partially because she missed her and Ichigo's little 'dialogue exchanges', and partially because she thought it was... cute... that he was watching her. So, she decided to milk this moment for all it was worth. Rukia furrowed her brow, plastered a scowl on her face, and took in a deep breath.

"Aghh... I thought getting whacked by you was Kon's job." Ichigo grunted.

"Funny... because I thought being a pervert was Kon's job too." Rukia retaliated.

"Who says I'm a pervert, midget?" Rukia's eye twitched, feigning anger.

"I did. Are you deaf now too, or still just stupid?"

"What happened to you being in a hurry to see me? Isn't that what you told Urahara?" Ichigo inquired.

"What? You were following me since then? **PERVERT**!"

"Well... I.. uhhhh... Yoruichi thought it'd be a good idea to surprise you..." Ichigo stammered.

"And since when do you take advice from Yoruichi? Or have you forgotten the '_chicken niblets_' incident?" Rukia teased. Ichigo shivered at the thought and pushed it to the back of his mind. He turned around and started walking back to Urahara's.

"Shut it, midget." He said bluntly. This remark earned him another, much harder, punch to the side.

"Where are you going?" Rukia asked.

"Urahara's, then home, I guess." Ichigo replied, scratching the back of his head. "Are you coming or not?" Ichigo called to the still stationary Rukia.

"Y...yeah." Rukia practically whispered, though she didn't know why.

Rukia and Ichigo navigated the dampened streets of Karakura, illuminated by the setting sun on a pale magenta sky (it had stopped raining after the hollow went down). After a few minutes, Rukia again broke the silence, deciding to ask a nagging question.

"Ichigo... How did you..."

"Get my powers back? My dad and Urahara." Ichigo cut her off.

"I see... Still no manners at all." She said under her breath with a slight blush.

"Hmm?"

"Oh... nothing..." Rukia chirped. The rest of their walk was relatively quiet, save for a few 'midget' and 'strawberry' comments, and subsequent punches to Ichigo's gut.

By the time they arrived back at Urahara's shop, since they walked, it was almost 5:00. As always, they were greeted by a loud and obnoxious Jinta, a meek Ururu, a polite Tessai, and of course, a grinning-like-an-idiot Urahara.

"Ah, welcome back, , Ichigo. How can we help you?" Urahara sang.

"Shut up, Urahara just get my body, will ya'? And get Rukia's Gigai, I saw it when I came in, you liar!" Urahara blushed. He had been caught out. He quickly dashed out of the room, he had no intention of being within eyeshot of Rukia. Rukia tried to go after him but was held back by Ichigo. She was fuming.

"You can get him back tomorrow. Let's just hurry up and get home." He whispered into her ear. Despite everything, Ichigo was still afraid of Tessai, and so did his best not to anger the leviathan of a man. Rukia struggled, but quickly gave up, she was still no match for Ichigo's strength, but she was surprised at how...reasonable..us he was being. Ururu quietly watched the spectacle, and Jinta chuckled.

"So you two finally got together, eh? Can't say I'm surprised..." He teased. Ichigo and Rukia simultaneously shot him the same glare.

"THAT **IDIOT**.." "THAT **MIDGET**..." "IS NOT..." "MY..." "**GIRLFRIEND**!" "**BOYFRIEND**!" They shouted in unison. Jinta shrugged.

"Whatever you say, carrot-top." He sighed. He sat down next to Ururu and whispered. "See? Told 'ya!" Ururu blushed and giggled. Ichigo and Rukia, once again fuming, stared at the ground in silence. The tension in the air was almost stifling. Soon after, Kisuke returned, carrying Ichigo's body under one arm, and Rukia's gigai under the other. He handed to Rukia sheepishly. She glared daggers back.

"Look, Miss Kuchiki, Yoruichi wanted me to wait. How 'bout I give you a discount?" Urahara offered snapping his fan closed. Rukia's expression softened.

"Oh, sure... Does 100% sound fair?" She asked sweetly as she climbed into her gigai.

"Fine..." Urahara replied downtroddenly. He turned to Ichigo. "And this is for you." Ichigo took his body and climbed into it. He felt the pocket for his badge, and gave Urahara a dirty look. "Oh yes, I believe these are yours as well?" Urahara asked, holding up the gift bag and combat pass.

"Thanks." Ichigo growled, snatching the items away. "Let's go." He said bluntly. "I thought you'd never ask." Rukia replied, following Ichigo out of the Shoten.

"By the way, Ichigo... What is that bag?" Rukia peeped as the two slowly made their way back to the Kurosaki clinic.

"Oh.. right.. Uhh... This is for you, I guess." Ichigo answered, handing her the bag.

"Why?" Rukia gave him an odd look, and her cheeks turned a light pink.

"Because I felt like it." He replied monotonously, keeping his eyes forward. Rukia sighed, and her cheeks lightened. The two stopped at a park bench so Rukia could examine her spoils. She peered into the bag and reached in. Less than a second later, a loud, shrill, squeal filled the streets, and could be heard for miles.

"AWWWW! Ichigo! It's adorable!" Rukia squeaked as she coddled the plush rabbit. Ichigo smiled. He really missed seeing her smile. Hell, he just missed her. "Huh...? There's something else in here..." Rukia mused as she dug through the tissue paper. Ichigo felt his stomach rising.

"Impossible." He reassured himself. He turned away. His heart rate was rising fast.

"Ichigo, what are these?" Rukia asked with wide eyes. Ichigo's jaw hit the ground.

"_Crap_." He said under his breath. "Uhhh... They're... uhh... *condoms*" Ichigo coughed, trying to hide his words.

"Con-doms? Like apartments?" Rukia asked. Ichigo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "No... like... prophylactics..." Ichigo figured he could throw her off with big words.

"What?" Ichigo sighed again and leaned into her ear to explain the... process of ...copulation and the function of...contraceptives. Rukia eyes widened. "**PERVERT**!" She yelled, throwing the box at his face.

"Ow... It's not my fault! My idiot dad put those in there on purpose!" Ichigo defended himself. Rukia knew Ichigo wasn't so... forward... so she decided to believe him.

"Alright, if you say so." Ichigo blushed.

"**Shut**. **Up**."

The rest of the walk took about twenty minutes, so they arrived at home at 6:00.

"My SOOON~!" Isshin chirped. "And my lovely third Daughter!" Isshin danced around and proceeded to give Rukia a fatherly hug. "It's good to see you too, Isshin-ojisan." Rukia smiled.

"And how have you been doing?" Isshin arched an eyebrow, looking towards Ichigo.

"Just fine, thanks." She chirped.

"I see. Could you give my Idiot son and I a moment?"

"Of course." Rukia obliged and went upstairs.

"I'm assuming by her mood you didn't tell her." Isshin said coldly.

"N... Tell her what?"

"Did you give her the other gift?"

"Yes, and almost got me killed you perverted old freak!" Ichigo snapped. Isshin sighed.

"Tell her to look underneath the strawberry on the bunny's chest." Isshin grinned at Ichigo, who just gave him a quizzical look. "And when you come down for dinner in exactly..." Isshin checked his watch, "53 minutes, I expect you to have told her." Isshin walked back into the clinic. Ichigo growled at him and walked up stairs.

Ichigo opened the door to his bedroom to find Rukia sitting on his bed, playing with her new 'friend'. She looked up at him and smiled as he entered the room.

"What did your dad want?"

"Oh... nothing." Ichigo scratched the back of his head, wondering if he should go through with it.

"R..."

"Ichigo?" Rukia cut him off.

"Yeah?" Rukia placed the stuffed rabbit on the bed and stared intently at Ichigo. She wore the same expression from earlier.

"Why did you give this to me Ichigo?"

"I told you. Because I felt like it." Rukia sighed, looking almost disappointed.

"Tch... What kinda look is that? I got you something you like! You could at least try to act happy!" Ichigo scolded.

"I am. It's just... never mind..." Rukia said quietly.

"Alright... I wanted to give you something nice... because... Well... I missed you..." Ichigo replied sheepishly, fully expecting yet another punch to his stomach. He closed his eyes and braced for it, but instead he felt two small arms wrap around his torso.

"Thank you..." Rukia said quietly. Ichigo sighed and reciprocated.

"Don't mention it." He replied with a blush.

"Oh! That's right!" Rukia shouted, releasing him from her grip. She fished around in her pocket for a second and pulled out a small envelope.

"Captain Ukitake must've heard about your powers returning. He asked me to give this to you." She explained, handing it to him.

"Hm. I see." He replied, placing it on his desk.

"Aren't you gonna read it?" Rukia inquired.

"I will, in a minute." Ichigo replied. He brushed past her and walked over to his bed. He picked up the rabbit to examine it. However, before he could get a good look at it...

"**HEY**! Give it back!" Rukia tackled Ichigo. It caught him off guard, which caused him to lose his balance, and he toppled over onto his bed, Rukia and all. When he regained focus, Ichigo found himself lying on his back, face-to-face with Rukia, who was lying on top of him. Their noses were not but 3 inches apart. Both turned a shade of red that would make Ichigo's namesake jealous. Rukia tried to slide forward in order to grab the rabbit, but she was held back by a large arm. Ichigo did his best to hold her back as she struggled, so he could closely examine the emblem. Sure enough, there was an inconspicuous velcro patch underneath the strawberry. Satisfied with this, he relinquished his grip on both the rabbit and Rukia, who in turn rolled off of him, rabbit in hand. Ichigo stood up, and debated in his head whether or not to tell her. Considering Isshin's track record, he almost decided against it, but something possessed him to make her aware of the other gift. He looked to Rukia, who was once again coddling the toy, and glaring at him for goading her into such a... compromising... position.

"I have something else for you, Rukia." Her expression softened.

"Really, Ichigo you've done enough."

"Just... look underneath the strawberry emblem." Ichigo said nervously. He really did not want to be in the room when Rukia opened it, for fear of his own life. He walked out, saying

"I'll be right back." as he shut the door slowly. He was a little curious as to what the toy concealed, so he figured it'd be best to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. Ichigo found Isshin in the clinic, filling out some charts. Isshin grinned when he saw his son approaching.

"MY SOOOON~! I had no idea you'd get through that so quickly!" Isshin squealed.

"I didn't do a damn thing yet, Dad!"

"Yet?"

"N... I mean... Look, I just came to ask about that gift. What is it?" Isshin calmed down.

"You don't remember?" He asked Ichigo, arching an eyebrow.

"Remember what?" Isshin chuckled.

"Son, you bought it for her." Ichigo scoffed at the thought.

"When?"

"About two weeks after the war."

"Bull. I slept for a month after the war." Ichigo shot down his father's story.

"You don't remember a thing, do you?" Ichigo just stared angrily at Isshin as he continued.

"Well, one of the days that no one else was around, you woke up for a few minutes. Since there wasn't anyone else around, I was looking after you. You managed to get out of bed on your own and I met you in the hallway." Ichigo's eyes widened as Isshin went on. "You were too weak to go anywhere, and you ended up collapsing in the hall. But, you were able to give me receipt for something and ask me to pick it up. You were going to give it to her for her birthday."

"So... but what about..."

"No, that was me." Isshin grinned. "Now you'd better hurry back, you're probably gonna want to be there when she opens it."

"Alright..."

Ichigo ran back up the stairs, his heart racing, and his thoughts moving a mile a minute. He paused outside his bedroom door. More and more thoughts flooded his mind. What did he intend to tell her? Was everyone else right? Did he really... feel that way about her? Ichigo shook his head. He just needed to focus. He slowly extended a trembling hand towards the doorknob, but it immediately moved away. At the same moment, Rukia had opened the door. She looked up at Ichigo, who wore a concerned look. He saw instantly that she was crying.

"Rukia... What is it?" Ichigo asked, his voice filled with worry. Rukia said nothing, but simply smiled. She moved towards Ichigo, pushed him into the opposite wall, jumped up, and using his shoulders to boost herself up, she slammed her lips onto his, in a spontaneous, passionate kiss. Rukia pulled away rather quickly, she needed to ask him about the gift before they proceeded.

"Ichigo... that gift... do you really mean it?" Ichigo was flummoxed, not only did he strain himself remembering the gift, but he was really caught off guard by Rukia. Though it took him a moment, he finally completely remembered what her gift was. He smiled down at her, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

"The inscription? Of course...I promise." He said, leaning down to kiss her lightly. Rukia felt the ring, hanging around her neck and she ran her fingers along the inscription.

_'You are my one and only, now and forever. The day may come when all will rise against us, but I will protect you. I promise, my one and only flower_.'

Ichigo pulled away and whispered once more, "Now and forever, Soul Reaper. I promise." Rukia smiled and whispered back. "My name is not 'Soul Reaper'. It's Rukia. Rukia Kuchiki."

* * *

(**A/N**: Alright, done. Last chapter, hope you liked it! The inscription is slightly modified lyrics from _Ichirin no Hana. _Review, make an IchiRuki fanboy happy! **Or...I dunno.. *something* will happen.**)


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